A novel benzophenanthridine alkaloid, named zanthoxyline, was isolated
from the bark of Zanthoxylum rhoifolium, together with the known comp
ounds, dihydronitidine, 6-oxynitidine and skimmianine. The structure o
f the new compound was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic invest
igations and elemental analysis. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.